If you think school isn’t hard enough, go to kindergarten
Fri, 3/09/10 – 12:30 | No Comment

I’m confused. Genuinely perplexed, as opposed to the fake puzzlement I sometimes try to pull on the guys. As in, “I just don’t understand why you thought it was a good idea to cut gaping …

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Food

Picky eaters and allergy-safe cooking — the two aren’t necessarily unrelated.

Girl Gone Wonk

From policy to politics, this rant’s for you.

News

The day’s events in a family way — unless something else amuses me.

School days

From preschool to kindergarten — so far

Simple Gifts

Inexpensive homemade gifts, creative parties and low-cost projects, for Christmas and beyond. Many are easy enough for children to help.

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For some of us, digital IS the down time
Friday, 27 Aug, 2010 – 14:34 | No Comment
For some of us, digital IS the down time

I have a new nightly routine of late, mainly because the old one wasn’t working.
Use to be, I’d tuck the guys in and then toss fitfully in an attempt to doze off. I’d eventually give …

The legacy of Robert C. Byrd
Monday, 28 Jun, 2010 – 23:15 | Comments Off

It was more than 20 years ago when I met U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, but I recall two things vividly about that day.
The first was how ill at ease he appeared at what was …

It’s not the medium. It’s what you put out there
Monday, 26 Apr, 2010 – 21:32 | One Comment
It’s not the medium. It’s what you put out there

Note to California State Sen. Ellen Corbett: Social networking sites do not post personal information about minors. The minors themselves do that.
That’s why Corbett’s bill, which The Sacramento Bee says would ban sites from posting …

A SWAT for refusing to let the birth certificate nonissue die
Thursday, 22 Apr, 2010 – 18:03 | Comments Off
A SWAT for refusing to let the birth certificate nonissue die

It’s kind of ironic, given that John McCain was the subject of the original birther lawsuit, that Arizona is like a pit bull after a steak when the citizenship at issue is Barack Obama’s.
Or not …

Green behaviors common in the U.S.? That’s hard to believe
Wednesday, 21 Apr, 2010 – 17:51 | Comments Off
Green behaviors common in the U.S.? That’s hard to believe

Ever since I’ve moved to California, I’ve enjoyed the benefits of curb-side recycling.
It really couldn’t be an easier: Separate your trash in the house and select the appropriate bin outside in which to deposit it. …

When your sick child really isn’t
Tuesday, 20 Apr, 2010 – 18:11 | Comments Off
When your sick child really isn’t

They’re probably not doing it because they’re out to get you – though it feels like it sometimes – but you’re right about the second part: Day cares do send kids home when they’re not …

When the ‘profits first’ policy fails – disastrously
Thursday, 8 Apr, 2010 – 19:02 | Comments Off
When the ‘profits first’ policy fails – disastrously

It’s not as if big coal companies ever have been benevolent societies – the song “Sixteen Tons” and its lyrics about owing your soul to the company store stemmed from a miner’s reality.
It’s not as …

Everyone could find jobs if they were just willing to move
Thursday, 1 Apr, 2010 – 20:21 | 2 Comments
Everyone could find jobs if they were just willing to move

How nice it must be to have all the answers – even if the answers keep changing when the question is whether to extend unemployment benefits.
At least unemployed workers are no longer lazy – apparently …

When the First Amendment should come second
Wednesday, 31 Mar, 2010 – 18:23 | 3 Comments
When the First Amendment should come second

I’m a big Bill O’Reilly fan today.
I also agree with Michelle Malkin.
And I think an appeals court was dead wrong when it ruled, on free speech grounds, in favor of people who protested at a …

Yes, let’s look at mobile, cloud privacy. But don’t stop there
Tuesday, 30 Mar, 2010 – 19:51 | Comments Off
Yes, let’s look at mobile, cloud privacy. But don’t stop there

The most important point to come out of a diverse coalition that’s callings for tighter electronic privacy laws: Officials should be able to access “communications that are not readily accessible to the public only with …

OMG! They’re putting information on the Internet!
Monday, 29 Mar, 2010 – 20:03 | Comments Off
OMG! They’re putting information on the Internet!

Your personal information posted online!
It’s 411 for pedophiles – a major security risk!
It’s called Spokeo – a name parodied two years ago as Spookey, the Big Brother of Social Networking sites.
And, in the end, it’s …

Internet cons try to co-opt patriotism
Sunday, 28 Mar, 2010 – 19:28 | 2 Comments
Internet cons try to co-opt patriotism

The next “soldiers” you meet could be close relatives of  your Nigerian uncle – if you’re not careful, that is.
It seems that the latest stunt from the set that’s sent us emails from Australian barristers …

Legislating in the heat of emotion
Friday, 26 Mar, 2010 – 17:13 | Comments Off
Legislating in the heat of emotion

It’s perfectly understandable when people try to assign blame in the event of accidents – in fact, doing so is even official policy for some agencies.
If I were the parent of a beautiful 16-year-old who …

Paywall anyone?
Wednesday, 17 Mar, 2010 – 18:41 | Comments Off
Paywall anyone?

The worst news for the newspaper industry out of today’s the Pew Internet and American Life Project report was not that 82 percent of those polled said they’d go to another site rather than pay …

How to avoid turning OpSec into OopsSec
Sunday, 14 Mar, 2010 – 17:59 | 2 Comments
How to avoid turning OpSec into OopsSec

It was a blunder so classically moronic that you wonder how the person who posted it was deemed intelligent enough to serve in the military – any country’s military, including countries with mandatory service.
“On Wednesday, …

I know what I want – I just don’t see it yet
Friday, 5 Mar, 2010 – 20:13 | Comments Off
I know what I want – I just don’t see it yet

I pay $65 a month for satellite TV service, and that’s way too much considering that we regularly watch only  Nickelodeon, ESPN and the local FOX affiliate. The package includes 200 channels, many of which …

A SWAT for trying to impose values from afar
Thursday, 25 Feb, 2010 – 19:30 | Comments Off
A SWAT for trying to impose values from afar

What’s worse than a YouTube video showing a developmentally disabled boy being bullied?
A court verdict in Italy that finds Google executives guilty of invasion of privacy because the video was posted to begin with – …

Tired of hearing about Danica? Then quit talking about her
Monday, 22 Feb, 2010 – 19:51 | 2 Comments
Tired of hearing about Danica? Then quit talking about her

First rule of complaining about media coverage: Whether it’s a philandering golfer or a foot in mouth and ink on hand politician, if you’re sick of hearing about someone don’t say something that’s going to …

Google doesn’t make us stupid. Stupid makes us stupid
Friday, 19 Feb, 2010 – 19:06 | One Comment
Google doesn’t make us stupid. Stupid makes us stupid

If computer manufacturers wanted to do the world a big favor they’d include, not a shortcut to software,but a direct link to snopes.com on every box sold.
It wouldn’t end all the “Starbucks is anti-military” emails …

Putting the media back in social media
Sunday, 14 Feb, 2010 – 17:50 | Comments Off
Putting the media back in social media

Once upon a time there was an Army post in the middle of the desert.
It had a weekly newspaper, but editions often failed to make it to all the boxes on post.
It had a radio …

YouTube safety mode is nothing special
Friday, 12 Feb, 2010 – 17:47 | Comments Off
YouTube safety mode is nothing special

It’s ironic that Google rolled out Safety Mode parental controls for YouTube in the same week that it made gmail unsafe for some folks in its careless rollout of Buzz.
Some of the early things I’d …

If we’re better off without the incumbents, let’s SWAT those not willing to make us better off
Thursday, 11 Feb, 2010 – 19:50 | Comments Off
If we’re better off without the incumbents, let’s SWAT those not willing to make us better off

A recent Rasmussen Poll found that 63 percent of the country believes we’d be better off if most of Congress were re-elected.
Granted, Scott Rasmussen has worked on Republican campaigns before and some question whether the …

Shiver in the cold, kids. That bad woman isn’t licensed
Tuesday, 9 Feb, 2010 – 19:30 | Comments Off
Shiver in the cold, kids. That bad woman isn’t licensed

We have a raging health-care crisis that we cannot solve.
Unemployment has “dropped” to 9.7 percent, but that’s a trick. The real number is much higher because we no longer count people who are so discouraged …

Readers want information the way they want it. This is news to some
Friday, 5 Feb, 2010 – 19:16 | Comments Off
Readers want information the way they want it. This is news to some

If publishers think I’m impatient, wait until the guys throw themselves fully into the Net.
I’ve only been tapping my foot in front of the microwave for 30 years. My kids have been doing it since …

Giving police faster information – great. But at what cost?
Wednesday, 3 Feb, 2010 – 18:38 | Comments Off
Giving police faster information – great. But at what cost?

I have absolutely no problem with the police knowing anything my Internet Service Provider knows about me – as long as they use a proper search warrant to obtain the information.
Anyone’s a fool to think …

When the computer becomes an appliance
Monday, 1 Feb, 2010 – 20:00 | 2 Comments
When the computer becomes an appliance

I bought a computer two weeks ago.
That in and of itself isn’t earth-shattering. I seem to buy a computer every few months of late.
What’s different, though, is that the newest computer never will be used …

Sometimes, bayonetting tradition is the smart thing to do
Sunday, 31 Jan, 2010 – 19:56 | Comments Off
Sometimes, bayonetting tradition is the smart thing to do

Bayonets – he calls them “knife guns” – crack Big Guy up.
“Why are they using those?” he asked recently as we watched one of the “Pirates of the Caribbean. “Why don’t they just use their …

A SWAT for sucking up the freebies while work goes undone
Thursday, 28 Jan, 2010 – 20:00 | Comments Off
A SWAT for sucking up the freebies while work goes undone

It’s amusing, in a “fiddling while Rome burns” sort of way, to see how public officials flock to the freebies like hogs to slop – and then fail to report the corporate largess that’s showered …

Get off their backs about their weight
Tuesday, 26 Jan, 2010 – 20:00 | Comments Off
Get off their backs about their weight

I don’t follow celebrity news, not because I’m a snob about it but because I rarely get to watch anything that’s not animated.
I know who Courtney Cox and Jennifer Aniston are because “Friends” was one …

A SWAT for trying to officially turn ISPs into copyright police
Thursday, 21 Jan, 2010 – 19:59 | Comments Off
A SWAT for trying to officially turn ISPs into copyright police

Here’s how it works at Wal-Mart: A security guard spots someone she suspects of shop-lifting. She stops the person, calls the police and an investigation takes place.
Here’s how it would work if Wal-Mart were the …

When it comes to media use, I’m going to go down swinging
Wednesday, 20 Jan, 2010 – 19:55 | 2 Comments
When it comes to media use, I’m going to go down swinging

Just when the experts thought kids couldn’t cram a single second more of electronics time into their days comes a study that shows, not only that they can, but that they have.
According to research the …

30 hours a week of leisure time? It depends on the definition of ‘leisure’
Sunday, 17 Jan, 2010 – 20:33 | Comments Off
30 hours a week of leisure time? It depends on the definition of ‘leisure’

Brigid Shulte, you had me at “I have baked Valentine’s cupcakes until 2 a.m.” Except in my case, it was cookies and thanks to some quick calculations I was able to wrap it up by …

Wal-Mart’s on the cutting edge of cutting costs
Tuesday, 12 Jan, 2010 – 21:37 | 2 Comments
Wal-Mart’s on the cutting edge of cutting costs

It’s early yet, but give Wal-Mart credit for the public relations coup of the year so far.
Last week, the retailer began charging 15 cents for regular bags and 50 cents for oversized ones in three …

Baby you can drive my car – and text and talk and surf, all at once
Sunday, 10 Jan, 2010 – 22:02 | Comments Off
Baby you can drive my car – and text and talk and surf, all at once

I love technology. I really do.
I even love technology in cars. It came in handy back in September, when I frantically searched on my Blackberry for an open tire store after Dad had already driven …

Don’t take anything more from kids who have given up plenty
Friday, 8 Jan, 2010 – 19:28 | One Comment
Don’t take anything more from kids who have given up plenty

I’m not one to whine about budget cuts – I understand the economic realities in the country at the moment, and I realize everyone is feeling some pain.
I’m also not surprised that Army posts are …

It turns out that TV isn’t the wonder drug
Monday, 4 Jan, 2010 – 22:06 | 2 Comments
It turns out that TV isn’t the wonder drug

The warnings have been around for years, but they were easily ignored because they were couched in terms of “we think” and “possibly.”
Children might take longer to learn to talk if they spend a lot …

A SWAT for making readers think about going mobile
Friday, 1 Jan, 2010 – 14:45 | Comments Off
A SWAT for making readers think about going mobile

I’m not exactly a road warrior. If I were, my Blackberry home screen already would be filled with apps that keep me informed on the fly.
So it was a pleasant surprise this morning to click …

A SWAT to Verizon for trying to squeeze people who want to leave
Friday, 25 Dec, 2009 – 18:00 | Comments Off
A SWAT to Verizon for trying to squeeze people who want to leave

Pity the poor ginormous telecom that’s forced to scrape for every nickel and dime it can find in order to stay afloat. Eventually, those costs have to be passed along to the consumer, you know.
I’m …